Re: Gitlab Migration

[Tim Cross <theophilusx@gmail.com>]

<tomas@tuxteam.de> writes:

> [[PGP Signed Part:Undecided]]
> On Fri, Aug 27, 2021 at 05:34:26PM +1000, Tim Cross wrote:
>
> [...]
>
>> Yep, that mirrors what I'm seeing as well. Many younger users really use
>> it primarily to provide a unique identifier (login) and for when they
>> have to deal with institutions that don't provide other alternatives.
>
> I think part of the rush is nudge pressure applied by the Big Ones.
> It's not possible to monetise mail in the same way as it is possible
> to do with whatsapp, tiktok, twitter and the uncountable more or less
> "secure" messengers popping up here and there.
>
> The nice thing about those communications platforms (nice from the
> perspective of the venture capitalist) is that there's no separation
> of platform and UI, so they get direct control of the user's perception.
>
>

The problem with that argument is that it doesn't explain the behaviour
of young adults and teenagers. Nobody has 'nudged' them to move away
from email - they were never into it. It simply isn't a communication
medium they are interested in. For them, it is about IM, instagram,
tiktok etc. Some of it is because of marketing, a lot of it is because
of peer influences. Regardless, email is of no interest to them. 

>> The other interesting trend I'm seeing is with many companies now
>> working to minimise email as part of their internal/external workflows.
>> Many companies are finding it a huge resource sink, cause of unnecessary
>> stress/pressure on staff, source of significant security concerns and a
>> real problem for records management.
>
> I have watched this process around the 2010s in one company. The
> decision was made at top level (they were convinced by some Microsoft 
> salesperson [1] to switch to Office 365 instead of mail, because...
> mail is old). Today, they still use mail, but have outsourced their
> whole communications infrastructure to Microsoft, GDPR be dammed.
>
> The resource sink, stress and pressure stemmed rather from that
> change, for those who had to use that "new" platform (not to
> talk about staff layoffs for the old sysadmins, but I disgress).
>
> Those having taken the decisions didn't have to use O365, they
> have secretaries. For them, it was success.

The move to use o365 or google mail was about moving away from
maintenance of infrastructure in favour of using 'commodity' services.
It is about streamlining management, reducing dependency on in-house
technical skills and more predictable and easy to manage budgets. This
was particularly true for companies who already used exchange and were
paying dearly for the cost (both technical and hardware) to maintain
the platform. It was also about the dream of unified communications with
Calendaring, VoIP, Video Conferencing, etc. Few companies just ran a
simple Postfix or similar mail server - they had calendaring systems,
video conferencing/meeting systems, VoIP systems etc., all of which
could be replaced by services from MS or Google and they could get rid
of those expensive and difficult to recruit skilled technical staff who
kept it all running. It was about easier management and predictable
budgets (even when it was more expensive).

However, this largely pre-dates the drive to move away from email.
Email, regardless how it is provided, is a problem for companies. It is
a major source of security problem, it is a nightmare for records
management, policy and regulation compliance and a major impediment in
business workflow automation. While I doubt any company will stop using
email completely, they are definitely moving way from having it as a key
technology in their business processes. 

>
> This may sound like an off-topic rant, but I'm serious. Not all
> of this "mail is old" meme is for real. Some of it is propaganda
> (I emphasise: /some/ of it). So we should take each critique
> and address it one by one.
>
The problems with email for business are real. While lots of companies
are pushing their alternative solutions for various reasons, it doesn't
remove the reality that it fails for business on many levels.
Personally, it remains my preferred communication medium, except when I
need to communicate with my kids or any of their friends!  

> To put it in other words: I won't pay a wholesale-ish "mail is
> old" argument. I want to have more solid stuff.
>

Time will tell. I certainly wouldn't be investing in any company that
was only an email provider. However, we are getting off topic. I think
the key point to note is that I don't think anyone is saying we need to
get rid of the email based stuff we currently have - what people are
asking for is to have an alternative interface which is similar to what
is offered by Github/Gitlab/sourceHut in addition, not instead of.
Arguments about one being better than the other are pointless as we all
have our own preferences. What people are asking for is support for a
broader set of preferences.